I have been diagnosed with hypersensitivity pneumonitis. In 2004, I drove the length of US 95 from Maine to North Carolina. In southern Virginia, I stayed with friends in a cabin near the Great Dismal Swamp. Two days later, in Manhattan, we ate a late lunch near the WTC site. I ate my calamari. Both hands started to itch. Soon, both hands were covered with blood blisters. I had developed a fever. I was admitted to the Norwalk, CT hospital with a high fever. I became stable on IVs of Benedryl, Prednisone and an antibitoic similar to Cipro.I was sypmtom-free for four years.
In June 2008, I was cleaning black mold from the exterior of our house (no respirator). I got a fever, went to the clinic, was given a course of amoxycillin. No help. On June 21, 2008, I was admitted to the hospital, given the Cipro type antibiotic but no steroid, was on a Bipap machine and recovered. I was released That night, I was readmitted to the ICU with worse symptoms. I was given the same treatment and sent home on oral Levaquin. I had a course of Levaquin for 10 days. On the 11th day, I was admitted to the local ICU with the same symptoms. This time, my own physician put me on Prednisone.
I changed work locations in September 2008. On February 3, 2009, I went to work at 7:30 am and developed a high fever at 10:45 am. I was admitted to the hospital. My O2 sats dropped the next day to the 60s. I was placed in a coma and put on a ventilator for four days. On the same combination of drugs, I recovered and went home. I returned to work on February 23, 2009 for four hours. I went in at 10:30 am and worked until 2:30pm when I developed a high fever and was admitted to the ICMU. They pumped up the drugs and this stay only lasted two days. A condition to exists in my classroom - a leaky roof caused black mold inside the ceiling. Yesterday, the district paid for an air quality sample. Anyone is invited to respond.